11. CHAPTER ELEVEN #3
“I’m just scared,” I said, finally snapping out of my daze. I looked up, locking onto Pia’re’s eyes. “Someone like me doesn’t usually get this. I just wish my brain could accept that I’m… allowed to have it.”
I picked up my fork and began a pointless excavation of my cold Brellan, moving pieces from one side of the plate to the other.
“Your brain will catch up,” she said. “Your gut already knows. You got on a shuttle alone to another planet to see a girl you’d only ever watched through screens. That was not a brain decision. That was pure, unreasonable courage.”
I could feel the tears slowly start to swell behind my eyes. I blinked quickly, staring hard at the table.
“That’s one word for it,” I muttered.
“I am serious,” she said, her tone leaving no room for my self-doubt. “Every time you talk about her, you light up. Every time you talk about yourself, you make yourself smaller. Maybe try reversing that once or twice. See what happens.”
I snorted, a messy sound that broke the tension. I swiped at my eye, the dampness leaving a cool trail on my skin.
“You’re very bossy,” I laughed, feeling the weight in my chest lift by an inch.
“Neptune Academy teaches us about boundaries,” she said, her expression turning mock-serious as she smoothed her hair. “I am simply applying the curriculum.”
We both laughed and picked up our drinks.
She took a sip, laughing, then stopped. Her attention had drifted past me, fixed on the entrance.
She sat straighter and set down her drink, picking up a napkin to dab her bottom lip.
She folded her hands and fidgeted with them on top of the table before dropping them to her lap.
“Pia’re? You okay?”
“Mhm,” she mumbled, still looking at the door.
I turned to see what had stolen her breath away.
A woman dressed in a plaid mini skirt with socks that reached her thick thighs was standing in the doorway. Her bubblegum-pink hair fell over her shoulders and down her back. She paused when she spotted Pia’re, and a smile touched her mouth.
I turned back to Pia’re as she started walking our way.
“Pia’re,” she called out.
Pia’re blinked, like she’d been caught in the middle of a thought. “Hi Nyxie.”
The girl came closer, smiling.
“How’s your summer been? Good I hope?”
“Yes, but it’s gone by way too fast,” Pia’re’s answered, her cheeks turning a rosy pink. “I hope your has been good too.”
The girl’s smile widened. “It has been really great but I agree. It has gone by way too fast. I had so many plans that I never got to do. Maybe next year. So what are you doing in Minia?”
“Oh just visiting.” Pia’re glanced down at her hands before looking back up. “What about you?”
“I’m here for Zhari,” she replied. “And academy shopping.”
Pia’re’s face brightened. “Me too.”
“You’re heading into second year too, right?” the girl asked.
Pia’re nodded. “Yeah. I am.”
“Awesome.” Her smile softened. “Maybe we can get together for lunch sometime and study?”
“I’d like that,” Pia’re whispered.
The girl offered her one last smile before moving farther into the jelly lounge.
Pia’re watched her go then looked back at me grinning.
“So, who was that?” I laughed.
Pia’re’s cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red. “That was Nyxie. She’s a hippocampus from Neptune. I have been in love with her since I started Neptune Academy. She is just amazing.”
“I definitely could tell something was up. Seems iI’m not the only one with a mega crush.” I laughed again and took another sip.
“Well, unlike you we are not mated and I am too chicken to tell her. So for now I will get nervous around her and blush.”
“Time. Just give it some time. You will tell her when it feels right.”
We both went back to drinking and eating as we giggled over love.
By the time we’d demolished most of the Brellan Stack and drained our drinks, we paid the bill and made our way back outside.
“I will definitely need to come back here in the future. I wish we had more cool places like this back on Earth,” I said.
“Oh, I know. I always visit once when I shuttle in.” Pia’re pulled me into another hug, the shopping bag crinkling between us. “Message me when you get back to the bus.”
She squeezed me tighter.
“And if you decide to stop letting other people narrate your life, let me know. I will bring confetti.”
I laughed into her shoulder.
She waved as she disappeared back into the crowd, her Neptune bag swinging.
I reached automatically for my bag to pull out my sketchbook, eager to capture her in the alley light before the image faded.
My hand hit empty fabric.
“Oh no,” I muttered, patting myself down as if the sketchbook might magically appear in a pocket I’d never had.
Nothing.
“Okay,” I told myself. “Maybe I left it in the cab. Or in the mess hall this morning.”
I pulled up Astrolynx on my wrist comm.
Galaxy Cab 900 was still at the top of my recent searches. I tapped it, and within seconds, the same hologram popped up— Your driver is two minutes away.
When the cab glided up to the curb, the door opened.
“Ah, we meet again,” Wyn said, grinning.
“The Jelly Lounge was amazing. You were right,” I said, sliding inside.
He looked delighted.
“I have been telling people about that place for years,” he said as the seat belt slid into place along its track. “No one ever listens to Wyn, but the food never lies.”
We pulled away from the food district and headed back toward the docks. As we merged into the elevated transit lane, the route arced high over the city.
From there, Minia looked even more unreal. The arena was a dark bowl with rigging rising around it like a metal forest—cranes, beams, and light rigs climbing into place.
“You okay?” Wyn asked, catching my reflection in the window.
“Yeah,” I said. “Just… having a moment. Hey, I didn’t happen to leave my sketchbook in here earlier, did I?”
“No, sorry. I haven’t seen it. I even went back to the cab loading bay to clean it out.”
“Ah, okay. I misplaced it and don’t remember where. I would have loved to draw the Jelly Lounge.”
“I’m sure you will find it in the least expected spot. Plus, there’s always next time. There are Jelly Lounges all over the galaxy. You’ll have your chance.”
We pulled up to where the tour bus was parked. The sun was shining so brightly that the holographic paint cast a rainbow across the bus.
Wyn dropped me back at the dock with a cheerful “Have a good night,” and I made my way onto the bus.
First things first, I needed to find my sketchbook. It would have been nice to have it with me that day to draw the café.
As I walked around the mess hall, I retraced my steps to where I’d sat earlier. The ledge was empty. The chair was pushed in, and the table had been wiped down.
My stomach flipped.
“Okay,” I whispered. “That’s fine. It has to be here somewhere.”
Maybe someone had found it and returned it to my room.
As I turned to walk back to my room, I noticed one of the marketing guys, Tev, clutching something beneath his arm. He sat at the back table, so I nearly missed him.
“Hey!” I shouted from across the room. “What are you doing with my glitter sketchbook?”